Russia may become a leading global producer and exporter of hydrogen by 2035, says an article of GTAI – Germany Trade & Invest GmbH. The strategy is being developed now by Russian government. The paper includes the localization of foreign technology, stimulating domestic demand and export plans.
Source: Germany Trade & Invest
“It is strategically beneficial for Russia to produce and export hydrogen sourced from inexpensive natural gas, and thereby protect itself against possible reduction in the demand for fossil fuels. Hydrogen is a by-product in the petrochemical, gas and steel industries. These industries are well developed in Russia and have all the necessary infrastructure for both production and transportation to the markets of Europe and Asia,” said Florian Willershausen, development director of Creon Capital.
The major potential market for Russian hydrogen is Germany, which has already announced the establishment of a German-Russian working group on energy policy. In September 2019 Rusatom Overseas signed an agreement with the Japanese Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) for the supply of hydrogen by 2021.
In the future, hydrogen may play an important role in the energy sector of both countries. Since 2030 Russia will be able to produce up to 3.5 million tons of hydrogen per year, representing 15% of the global market share, which will grow to 23.8 billion euros by 2035. In Germany, hydrogen energy is considered as a transition technology to fully renewable energy sources. By the way, NordStream2 can become one of the export channels of Russian hydrogen. Up to 7% of the pipeline’s capacity can be used to supply hydrogen.
